Toddler's death: Dad weeps in court

Babysitter wanted to go home as her mother had passed away

Dubai Criminal Court is hearing the case of a babysitter who allegedly suffocated her employer’s 11-month-old baby to death.

At the last hearing, the jury had to take away the babysitter as the baby’s dad claimed he couldn’t speak before her.

The presiding judge said that he noticed that the father was anxious and attempted to calm him down. The man then told the jury that he was unable to concentrate because of the accused. So the judge asked police staff who were in the court to make RT, 29, Indian, stand away.

According to judicial rules, the accused should be present and hear the testimonies of the witnesses. Therefore, the babysitter was not asked to leave the court room but rather stand away and behind the father.

The devastated father wept several times when he recalled the details of his daughter’s death.

The mother who was asked to leave the court room when her husband was making his testimony was also seen weeping outside the courtroom.

The father told the court that the babysitter’s husband had called him from India to inform him of her mother’s death. He allegedly told the father that he wanted his wife to stay in the UAE and requested him not to inform her of her mother’s demise.

“However, her husband informed her on the next day and when she requested to go home to India, I told her that we should wait until the visa formalities are done. She joined us on November 22 and her mother passed away in December. Her visa formalities were not yet finished and her passport was with the DNRD,” the father told the court.

She committed her crime on January 18, while the couple were out. “We left to a friend’s house at around 3pm that day. After calling the babysitter to check on our children and learning from her that the baby took her food and had slept, we proceeded to BurJuman Centre. My wife called the babysitter several times while we were out and that was the first time we had left the children alone with her.

“At around 6pm my wife received a phone call from the babysitter telling that the baby was not waking up and not moving,” he said.

“My wife called our sister-in-law – my brother’s wife - and asked her to rush to our house because we were faced with a traffic jam. Later, our sister-in-law asked us to rush to Zulekha Hospital as the baby was in a bad condition. At the hospital, doctors told us that the baby was dead and they notified the police.”

After two days, police told us about the baby’s suspicious dead and arrested the babysitter.

Forensic report:

Forensic reports show that the baby was suffocated by a piece of cloth wrapped and pulled strongly around the neck. There were bruises in the inner side of her lips and chin along with nail scratches on the eyelids.

Confession:

“Confronting the babysitter with the evidence, she admitted to suffocating the baby with a scarf. She also admitted to pressing her mouth to prevent her cries,” First Lieutenant Jasim Mohammed told the jury.

The witness also told the jury that during investigations the accused said that she decided to kill the baby as she was the reason why she couldn’t go home.

“She claimed that she had asked her employer for travelling but they told her that they recruited her to take care of the baby,” the officer told the jury.

“She also claimed that she had asked the father of the girl several times but every time he told her that he cannot send her home as he had already spent a lot of money to recruit her,” the officer told the jury.

She had told the officer earlier how she had committed the crime. “My employer had left the house at around 3pm and I was alone with the baby…I wrapped a scarf around her neck and blocked her mouth and nose with my hand until she stopped moving. I left the room and went out and played with my employer’s 4-year-old son who was in the hall. Later, I returned to the bedroom and as I was sure that the baby is dead, I called my employer and told her that the baby was suffering from breathing difficulties and that her condition was abnormal,” the accused had told investigators.

The devastated parents never suspected the babysitter. When asked by the police if they suspected her, they answered negatively and said that she was very good and that the children love her.

The police asked them if the babysitter had asked to travel back home, the baby’s mom answered that a month earlier RT had asked to travel back home as her mother had passed away.

“We asked her to wait until her residency formalities were done,” they said.

The couple assured that they treated the accused very well and that they considered her a member of the family.

Confession denial:

Meanwhile, the babysitter denied premeditated murder in the court.

She told the Judge Maher Salama Al Mahdi, “I did not kill her. How can I do such a thing when I am a mother?”

The couple tried to ask her why she killed their daughter outside the courtroom, but police prevented them.